BOTTOM LINE
Half-Baked And Tiring
OUR RATING
2/5
CENSOR
U/A
What Is the Film About?
Kalyan (Kiran Abbavaram) is a carefree college-going youth having a strained relationship with his father. He falls in love with a girl Sindhu (Priyanka Jawalkar), and is after her.
How Kalyan’s life takes a turn, and what makes him revive the old family business of marriage hall? Did he succeed in the business? His relationship with the father and eventually winning the love is what the movie is all about.
How Is Kiran Abbavaram’s Performance?
After a soft launch with Raja Varu Rani Gaaru, Kiran Abbavaram takes a mass route with SR Kalyanamandapam. There is a visible difference in the body language between these two outings. The confidence can’t be missed. But that’s about it.
For a second film hero, the mass elevations seem like punching above the weight. Kiran Abbavaram tries his best, and it shows, but somehow it all looks forced. The natural flow is missing. It seems too soon for him to do heavy mass elevations. Yes, they are shot well, but he doesn’t look like a seamless fit, at least not so soon. It would be better if he sticks to the content-oriented outing and improve as a performer. We see a glimpse of that towards the end. The ‘mass’ limits his choices and potential for growth and impressing the audience.
Analysis
Sridhar Gade directs SR Kalyanamandapam for the story, screenplay and dialogues provided by Kiran Abbavaram. It is a regular commercial entertainer with Rayalaseema as the backdrop. The location and entertainment with youthful and retro touch are used to bring freshness to a stale idea story-wise.
The storyline is convoluted, to begin with. It consumes and comprises most of the proceedings, be it the first or the second half. It depends a lot on the entertainment to pull off the narrative. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out as well and lacks freshness.
The love track, the supporting cast and the family drama are the three unique elements in the story. The screenplay fails in properly integrating them into a cohesive narrative. It is the most significant downfall of the movie. Each track feels like a separate movie.
The next big minus is the writing. It doesn’t work out as one expects. It is a key in holding everything together but falls flat most of the time. The lengthy initial love track or the short family business detour they have moments, but we get a feeling of stretched beyond necessary. A lot of trimming feels essential at the writing (script) level itself. The combination of the shoddy screenplay and weak writing makes the whole thing look half-baked.
After all the tiring entertainment, the interval bang seems alright. It is nothing extraordinary, but given all the proceedings before the interval, it seems alright.
The second half begins with a quick resolution to one of the critical elements – the ‘Kalyanamandapam’. We are again back to the love track, and the same issues of the first half resurface again. The lack of freshness despite taking a premise that offers a lot of scopes is disappointing. There is a lot of content for entertainment, like the pre-wedding shoot block etc., but nothing creates the magic or ‘hit out of the park’ impact.
The tone again shifts to drama during the pre-climax and climax sequences. The routineness is obvious, but the performance saves the day. It is on predictable lines but is manageable.
Overall, SR Kalyanamandapam is a youthful mass entertainer that fails to deliver. It has all the elements in place, but the packaging (screenplay-writing) leaves a lot to be desired and falters. It makes the whole affair a tiring watch.
Others Artists
SR Kalyanamandapam is the back to back second outing for heroine Priyanka Jawalkar. She is relatively better off here than her last outing Thimmarusu that came out last week. But, it is only ‘relative’ to it. On its own, SR Kalyanamandapam is a routine part but works out well for the actress for her target ‘youth’ audience. She has been presented glamorously and has enough screen time to get registered.
Sai Kumar is his usual self. He is adequate, and it works out well, in the end, for him. Thulasi is fine, although there is nothing new to do for her, as well.
Music and Other Departments?
The music by Chaitan Bharadwaj is good. A couple of songs are chartbusters, too. The background score is also alright, especially during the fight sequences. The cinematography by Viswas Daniel is okay. The editing could have been better, though. The writing, as mentioned previously, is a significant drawback.
Highlights?
Youthful Romance Bits
Entertainment In Parts
Emotional Ending
Drawbacks?
Screenplay
Story
Writing
Alternative Take
Another round of work on the script with improved writing is what SR Kalyanamandapam requires. It would have changed the entire feel and, therefore, the impact despite the routines on offer story-wise.
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
No
SR Kalyanamandapam Movie Review by Siddartha
